Making the choice to enter the US market is easy, according to Steve Anderson, but to succeed you need knowledge and expertise. He is the founder and CEO of Marquis and a lifelong entrepreneur with Swedish ancestors.
The US is commercially and legally complex. Not two states are alike. They have different business laws, cultures, regulations and economic conditions.
“To succeed, you need to have a willingness to learn, and frequently apply perfection analysis and follow-up correction of critical business strategies and tactics in order to avoid disappointing results and failure”, said Steve Anderson, Founder and Managing Partner of Marquis Advisory Group.
Marquis Advisory Group is a global growth strategy firm specialized in US market entry for foreign tech companies. They have operated in Silicon Valley and San Francisco for over 20 years and offer a range of services to help businesses grow on a global scale.
“We are a team of experts who work with you to within three months build and execute a clear, complete plan that separates you from your competitors and assures your successful entry and expansion in the US.”, said Steve Anderson.
Marquis’ first responsibility is to understand their clients’ countries and business cultures. Next, is to enable them to learn how to understand the major and minor differences in the US. To accomplish that, Marquis engage with their clients’ management teams to collaborate in planning and execution – and they take mutual responsibility for the outcomes.
“We do not charge by the hour. We engage via project-based retainers with the objective of a long-term relationship that takes Marquis and its clients from the first step on US shores until it becomes a stand-alone success”, said Steve Anderson.
Marquis has worked with clients from all over the world, and though most of them are in the tech industry, Marquis also has experience from clients in banking, pharmaceutical, agricultural, and motorsport.
“Both my grandfathers were entrepreneurs so the independent thinking must have been embedded in my DNA”
As versatile as Marquis’ client list is Steve Anderson’s personal background.
Before moving to San Francisco to start Marquis Advisory Group in 1993, he held executive management positions with two Fortune 500, global companies based in Philadelphia. Prior to that, he was a journalist with The New York Times and McGraw-Hill. He has also been engaged in a number of non-profit organizations over the years.
Even as a boy, growing up in upstate New York, Steve Anderson was a driven entrepreneur, picking potatoes for a local farmer, having his own paper route, cutting down trees at the family farm, and helping his grandfather make things out of wood in his workshop.
“Both my grandfathers were entrepreneurs so the independent thinking must have been embedded in my DNA”, said Steve Anderson. “My advantage is that neither in my education nor in my life experiences did rules that control me ever get planted in my mind.”
Steve’s grandfather’s family, on his dad’s side, immigrated from Swedish Falköping to the United States in the early 1900s. After arrival, the family crossed New York State to Jamestown, New York in the far western corner of the state that had a Swedish population attracted by the furniture manufacturing, woolen mills, and related industries.
“I visited Falköping in 1964, and also met my Swedish family here in the US once.”
Marquis Advisory Group joined the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce to engage with Sweden’s creative business sectors. Stephen Anderson is willing to share his experiences and skill in recognizing new business opportunities, contributing to SACC’s objectives and enable the success of the networks’ members.
